// For flags

CVE-2023-53101

ext4: zero i_disksize when initializing the bootloader inode

Severity Score

7.1
*CVSS v3

Exploit Likelihood

*EPSS

Affected Versions

*CPE

Public Exploits

0
*Multiple Sources

Exploited in Wild

-
*KEV

Decision

-
*SSVC
Descriptions

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: zero i_disksize when initializing the bootloader inode If the boot loader inode has never been used before, the
EXT4_IOC_SWAP_BOOT inode will initialize it, including setting the
i_size to 0. However, if the "never before used" boot loader has a
non-zero i_size, then i_disksize will be non-zero, and the
inconsistency between i_size and i_disksize can trigger a kernel
warning: WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 2580 at fs/ext4/file.c:319 CPU: 0 PID: 2580 Comm: bb Not tainted 6.3.0-rc1-00004-g703695902cfa RIP: 0010:ext4_file_write_iter+0xbc7/0xd10 Call Trace: vfs_write+0x3b1/0x5c0 ksys_write+0x77/0x160 __x64_sys_write+0x22/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x39/0x80 Reproducer: 1. create corrupted image and mount it: mke2fs -t ext4 /tmp/foo.img 200 debugfs -wR "sif <5> size 25700" /tmp/foo.img mount -t ext4 /tmp/foo.img /mnt cd /mnt echo 123 > file 2. Run the reproducer program: posix_memalign(&buf, 1024, 1024) fd = open("file", O_RDWR | O_DIRECT); ioctl(fd, EXT4_IOC_SWAP_BOOT); write(fd, buf, 1024); Fix this by setting i_disksize as well as i_size to zero when
initiaizing the boot loader inode.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: zero i_disksize when initializing the bootloader inode If the boot loader inode has never been used before, the EXT4_IOC_SWAP_BOOT inode will initialize it, including setting the i_size to 0. However, if the "never before used" boot loader has a non-zero i_size, then i_disksize will be non-zero, and the inconsistency between i_size and i_disksize can trigger a kernel warning: WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 2580 at fs/ext4/file.c:319 CPU: 0 PID: 2580 Comm: bb Not tainted 6.3.0-rc1-00004-g703695902cfa RIP: 0010:ext4_file_write_iter+0xbc7/0xd10 Call Trace: vfs_write+0x3b1/0x5c0 ksys_write+0x77/0x160 __x64_sys_write+0x22/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x39/0x80 Reproducer: 1. create corrupted image and mount it: mke2fs -t ext4 /tmp/foo.img 200 debugfs -wR "sif <5> size 25700" /tmp/foo.img mount -t ext4 /tmp/foo.img /mnt cd /mnt echo 123 > file 2. Run the reproducer program: posix_memalign(&buf, 1024, 1024) fd = open("file", O_RDWR | O_DIRECT); ioctl(fd, EXT4_IOC_SWAP_BOOT); write(fd, buf, 1024); Fix this by setting i_disksize as well as i_size to zero when initiaizing the boot loader inode.

*Credits: N/A
CVSS Scores
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Medium
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete
* Common Vulnerability Scoring System
SSVC
  • Decision:-
Exploitation
-
Automatable
-
Tech. Impact
-
* Organization's Worst-case Scenario
Timeline
  • 2025-05-02 CVE Reserved
  • 2025-05-02 CVE Published
  • 2025-05-02 CVE Updated
  • ---------- EPSS Updated
  • ---------- Exploited in Wild
  • ---------- KEV Due Date
  • ---------- First Exploit
CWE
CAPEC
Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions
Vendor Product Version Other Status
Vendor Product Version Other Status <-- --> Vendor Product Version Other Status
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
< 4.14.310
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " < 4.14.310"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
< 4.19.278
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " < 4.19.278"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
< 5.4.237
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " < 5.4.237"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
< 5.10.175
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " < 5.10.175"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
< 5.15.103
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " < 5.15.103"
en
Affected
Linux
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Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
< 6.1.20
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " < 6.1.20"
en
Affected
Linux
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Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
< 6.2.7
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " < 6.2.7"
en
Affected
Linux
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Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
< 6.3
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " < 6.3"
en
Affected